On March 25, 2015 a 3½ year old border collie named Olive was
brought to my house to be fostered “only for a month or so” until a permanent
home can be found for her. Well, three years later we are inseparable. Happy
anniversary Olive.
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Olive loves to herd geese into the pond at the center of my
townhouse condominium complex. I often let her loose as she typically comes back
to me after chasing the geese into the pond. Last Monday I saw her disappear
over a ridge near the edge of the pond. I walked down to get her, and she came
to me when I called her, her bottom half covered with muck. Apparently, she wallowed
into the muddy part of the pond (it gets that way in the early spring). I had
hoped to just be able to rinse off the mud quickly and be done with it. Guess
again. After rinsing the mud off she smelled awful. I ended up giving her a
full bath. I am grateful that she cooperates when it’s bath time.
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Today was the day we paid a visit to the veterinarian for
Olive’s annual checkup. I am happy to report that she is generally in good
health except for one thing. One of her teeth seems to have gotten infected and
was a bit loose. The vet recommended extracting the tooth. We have an
appointment set for next Thursday. I was told to drop her off early in the
morning at 7:30 and pick her up again at 4:00 p.m. No food that morning.
There was an alternative that the vet mentioned: I could
take her to a canine dentist (apparently there is such a thing) for a root
canal. I decided against that option.
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I am told that dogs are considered seniors after the age of
7 years. I have a hard time thinking of that lively dog as a senior, but it
seems that she is not a puppy anymore. The vet did detect some early signs of
arthritis. Great, we can deal with arthritis and growing old together. I found
a chart to determine a dog’s equivalent age:
I notice that this chart indicates Olive won't be senior until she turns nine.
From the chart, Olive would be the equivalent of a human at
47 when she turns seven in August. That hardly seems old to me. She won’t catch
up to me until she is about 11, at which point I will be 67. That’s a bit scary.
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I will be hosting an Easter dinner for family members
Sunday. My cousin Nancy will be bringing her new adopted dog Harvey along. In
the past others have brought their dogs to my house and there has been little
problem. Olive was mostly a gracious hostess when her brother Gilly visited, had
no problem when my friends Kathryn and Mark brought their corgi Archie, and
generally seems ok with other dogs visiting. I am hopeful that she will be just
as well behaved around her new “cousin”.
